mixtape maestro (2.0)

To have Wu Tang MVP’s Ghostface, Method Man and Raekwon all together on one track, rocking their usually winning thug-in-love swagger atop a shimmering ’70’s soul loop, made “Our Dreams”, an early preview of the trio’s highly anticipated joint offering Wu-Massacre, an immediate win; and if we had to point out the track’s true star, hands down it would have to be “hook guest” Michael Jackson (the song samples his 1975 solo hit “We’re Almost There”), melting our hearts all over again with the awe-inspiring ways of his then-16-year-old pipes.

So why, after noting all the praise-worthy elements the original has, do we consider a remix version replacing MJ with Alicia Keys the better grab? Simple: A better production polish.

The one thing keeping us from completely loving the original was it’s mixtape-level beat-crafting: More specifically, the awkward chorus-to-verse transitioning. Whether this was done on purpose to retain a certain street edge or was an early rough draft misstep ultimately left alone doesn’t matter, because the jarring cuts completely erupt the song’s flow.

Thankfully, the “Ant Acid Mix” rights this distraction, mashing M/G/R’s verses with Alicia Keys’ cover of “Almost There” (a bonus offering from last year’s The Element of Freedom) with far smoother (and therefore aurally satisfying) results.

Hear the original here, grab the “Ant Acid Mix” and the full Alicia cover below.

Wu-Massacre drops March 30th.

DL: “Our Dreams (Ant Acid Mix)” (alt)

DL: Alicia Keys “Almost There (Michael Jackson Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, alicia keys, cover song, east coast rap, ghostface killah, method man, michael jackson, raekwon, soul sample, wu-massacre, wu-tang clan

It’s difficult seeing the greatness in Gorillaz‘ Plastic Beach on first complete listen: the album lacks focus, kind-of drags, bears no immediate “Clint Eastwood”/ “Feel Good Inc”-type confections and is based around a environment-friendly concept that, while commendable in theory, initially comes across lame as theme. Give it a few more spins, though, and you’ll eventually be sold on it’s efforts, especially when it comes down to the album’s well-crafted handful of lazily drifting, haze & fuzz-cloaked midtempo fare (expect plenty of crit shout-outs for “Rhinestone Eyes”, “On Melancholy Hill”, “Broken” and the two Little Dragon-assisted pieces “To Binge” and “Empire Ant” when all is said and done).

Being such fans of the oddly mesmerizing jump-off that was “Stylo”, with featured guest Bobby Womack’s crazed soul-man beltings, the cut we most anticipated upon Beach’s release was Womack’s second contribution to the project, as we were swept away with intrigue on how else the Gorillaz could fancifully utilize the R&B veteran’s talents.

Tucked near the end of the album, that record, “Cloud of Unknowing”, ultimately ends up the rewarding experience we hoped it to be.

Bookended by the soothing sounds of cawing seagulls and crashing waves, the track beautifully captures a pensive moment of one man sitting beachside, his toes digging into the sand and his gaze fixed upward into the sky’s starry abyss, trying to figure out it all.

“On the cloud of unknowing/ My world seems open/ Every satellite up here is wanting/ But I was here from the very start,” Womack muses, his funereal moan tinged with an aching twang. What he’s going on about, you feel like you need a half-drunken bottle of wine and a bruised heart to completely understand, but there’s no mistaking the piercing his vocals do your emotional core, especially when accompanied by Damon Albarn and the East Midlands-based sinfonia ViVa’s spaced-out, classical composition.

Peep the standout below, than enjoy two of our favorite B. Wo tracks ever: his 1976 single “Daylight” (the ideal theme song for anyone who can’t let the night life go so easily) and his soul-tastic take on the Neil Diamond karaoke staple, “Sweet Caroline” (“bah, bah, bah…”).

“Cloud of Unknowing”:

DL: “Cloud of Unknowing” (alt)

Bonus DL: Bobby Womack “Daylight” (alt)

Bonus DL: Bobby Womack “Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, bobby womack, cover song, gorillaz, grown folks R&B, neil diamond, plastic beach, sinfonia viva

Just when our adoration for Gucci Mane’s The State vs. Radric Davis-housed tribute to all things yellow (bling, rims, booty), “Lemonade”, is at an all time high (surely, we’ll have another “best Gucci Mane track ever!!” next month, but right now we can’t get enough of the track’s manic piano tinkering and chorus of children awesomely chiming “Lemon pepper wangs and a freeze cup”), Fabolous swoops down on the Bangladesh beat to give it a different excellent flip.

The track, entitled “For The Money”, is one of the immediate highlights from Fab’s newly dropped mixtape There is No Competition – Part 2: The Funeral Service and could honestly be a hit single all on it’s own, thanks to the Brooklyn emcee changing it’s lyrical focus from singular hue obsessions to one of his own favorite radio banger topics (“shawtys” with dollar signs in their eyes) while humorously revising the hook with squeaky-voiced anony-chicks begging him to “write another song for the money” to keep their high-priced lifestyle on point.

“When the money gone/ She gon’ be the fuck gone with it,” Fab preaches, sounding not as much annoyed as mildly amused by his girl’s gold-digging obviousness: “I say ‘How many pair?’/ She say ‘Who’s countin?’”. Of course, though, it’s featured guest Nicki Minaj who ends up stealing the entire track with this LOL-worthy verse capper: “I told Fab ‘Get that Michael Knight KITT Coupe/ Before I put this pussy on your chipped tooth’”.

Grab the MP3 below, than (YOU MUST!!!) peep the song that started it all: “Lemonade”/ “For The Money”’s sample source, “Keep It Warm”, a hilarious gem by ’70’s duo Flo & Eddie (in the words of Drake, after hearing this one, you’ll definitely want to ‘thank us later’).

DL: “For The Money” (alt)

Flo & Eddie “Keep It Warm”:

DL: “Keep It Warm” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, bangladesh, fabolous, flo & eddie, gucci mane, mixtape, nicki minaj

Jack Splash has quietly made a name for himself over the past few years in his roles as singer, rapper, songwriter and producer.

Besides drawing raving acclaim for his contributions to Plantlife, a wildly entertaining, three-albums-deep funk outfit based out of L.A., he’s also hooked up some of the brightest talents in modern-day R&B (Alicia Keys, R. Kelly, John Legend, Raheem DeVaughn, Solange, Estelle, Jennifer Hudson, Jazmine Sullivan) with these amazingly lush sounds and classic-tinged romantic scripts steeped in the always-rewarding luster of yesteryear soul (credits include throwback-seasoned singles like Keys’ “Teenage Love Affair”, Legend’s “P.D.A.” and Solange’s “T.O.N.Y.”).

This year has the potential to be Jack’s true breakout year though, thanks to the premiere of his much-delayed solo debut, Technology And Love Might Save It All. But just in case you’re still not yet completely sold on why it should be a necessity for you to circle the May release date of the project (or, hell, are still scratching your head trying to figure out who dude is), we’ve gathered three previously unleashed cuts for your listening pleasure below. Promises you’ll be an instant fan after hearing them:

“I Could Have Loved You” featuring Missy Elliott & Jazmine Sullivan

-leaked to high praise last summer, this infectious four-on-the-floor delight finds the ladies and Splash in the midst of a flirtatious stand-off. “I could have loved you,” they tease in a buttery smoove R&B hook, but because they’re both already attached, they can only offer a naughty twirl on the dancefloor. With their mates nowhere in sight though, Jack isn’t fully convinced they’re telling the truth, inquiring in his best Prince voice, “If you gotta man at home/ Why you got them high heels on?”.

DL: “I Could Have Loved You” (alt)

“Ringtone” featuring R. Kelly & T-Pain

-here, Splash is once again on the prowl (“Baby I just wanna get with you/ In a most familiar way/ I don’t wanna cause a spectacle/ I just had to stop and say…”) and being flanked by a supporting cast of A-listers (T-Pain drops a rap verse, an Auto-Tuned Kellz provides the chorus); but the track’s most noteworthy element is it’s oddly meshed groove, a surprisingly effective combination of synth-R&B quirk and acoustic guitar sunniness

DL: “Ringtone” (alt)

“.38 Special” featuring Cee-Lo

-Splash’s latest leakage, from the forthcoming mixtape King of The Beats (due this week), re-teams him with The Heart Attack partner Cee-Lo, for an exquisite dishing of needly guitar funk, golden age mic braggadocio (“I ain’t talkin’ bout a gun/ My .38 special, I spit from my tongue…”) and the kind of soul-stirring Gnarls Barkley-ish hooks Cee handles so well.

DL: “.38 Special” (alt)

Sample some of Splash’s other creations via the widget below; pick up his last mixtape, Heir To The Throne, here.

Uncategorized 70's, 80's, cee-lo, disco, funk, jack splash, jazmine sullivan, los angeles, missy elliott, old-school hip hop, r. kelly, retro, t-pain

Despite arguably being Janet Jackson’s most immediately enjoyable single in years, her new greatest hits padder “Make Me”, a breezy dance concoction with nods to classic ’70’s-era MJ and her own early career heyday, has inexplicably failed to generate much of a chart presence so far (no love on the Billboard Hot 100 nor R&B/ Hip Hop singles listings). Sigh.

All is not lost though, as the single has at least gained some ground amongst the club-going sect, recently inching it’s way all the way to #3 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

Below, snatch up one of the new remixes helping lengthen this song’s life as a late-night floor-filler, a teasingly chopped “Edit” from the Ghosts of Venice crew, then re-acquaint yourself with one of JJ’s first chart hits with a “bonus” offering of her equally disco-tastic, pre-Control gem “Young Love”.

“Make Me”:

DL: “Make Me (Ghosts of Venice Edit)” (alt)

“Young Love”:

BONUS DL: “Young Love” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, 80's, dance remix, disco, diva pop, ghosts of venice, janet jackson

The go-to gal when it’s odes of heartbreak and loneliness dressed in twinkly, melancholic arrangements you crave to help get you through a gray-skied afternoon, Swedish songbird El Perro del Mar keeps chugging out that depressing bewitch-craft on “Change of Heart”, the first single off her latest collection, the recently-released-in-the-States EP Love Is Not Pop.

A bit musically denser than the twee orchestral seasonings that framed her previous works (yet still somehow still able to grasp her signature stamp of weightlessness), “Change” rides along a ’70’s rock-inspired soundbed of thickened bass grooves and echo-y guitar curlicues that drift in and out of a dream-like haze as Mar’s forlorn chirp mourns yet another dead-end romance.

It’s gorgeously transfixing stuff, an aesthetic brilliantly matched in it’s accompanying clip featuring the mesmerizing visuals of two golden-hued bodybuilders doing some amazingly slo-mo’ed performance art choreography.

El Perro Del Mar “Change Of Heart” from The Control Group on Vimeo.

Uncategorized 70's, el perro del mar, indie pop, singer-songwriter, sweden

Los Angeles-based four-piece King Washington describe their music as “a throwback to when rock and roll was a songwriter’s game” and we couldn’t agree more after investing a few minutes of our time enjoying their pleasant brand of three-part male harmony blessed, ’60’s/ 70’s-influenced pop/ rock.

Locking onto easily accessible melodies and lyricism that will likely inspire many “Beatles-esque”-focused critical write-ups once their debut EP arrives next year, Washington make it seem like the past forty years in music never happened, mastering this sunny simplicity in their sound that comes across as oh-so-refreshing during a time when all new music that arises seem a little too desperate in their attempt to invent their own hyphen-heavy sub-genre.

Below, dig into the loose playfulness of “I Get By” or the sunshiny, doo-wop-like structuring of (our favorite) “Angela” (where lead vocalist/ rhythm guitarist Tyson Ritter’s voice reaches a desperate rasp as he longs for the titular woman to rescue him from the depressingly hum-drum existence he currently calls life), and take note of the feel-good high that washes over you when listening to them.

DL: “I Get By” (alt)

DL: “Angela” (alt)

Uncategorized 60's, 70's, king washington, los angeles

Back in 2000, Mya kicked off the release of her second album Fear of Flying with the single “Best of Me”, a Jadakiss-featured/ Swizz Beatz-produced midtempo about resisting a thug that managed a peaking of #14 on the R&B/ Hip Hop Singles Chart. Barely remember it? That’s okay, since most will only recall the remix version that would go on to dominate that year’s summer-time airwaves.

Titled “Best of Me (Part 2)” (aww, remember when urban acts had briefly stepped away from the whole ‘remix’ thing as an attempt to make their records sound like blockbuster big screen events?), the “sequel” completely wiped the memory clean of the original, thanks to one of Jay-Z’s hottest cameo appearances (“What’s a little me on top gon’ hurt?/ Maybe a little…”), it’s use of the shuffling beat behind Biz Markie’s classic debut single “Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz” and the accompanying video’s oh-so-sexy image of Mya in that North Carolina jersey dress (aww, remember THOSE!?!). With all these elements at it’s disposal, and Mya’s featherweight coo as the center, the track quickly garnered kudos as one of the better marriages of hip hop and R&B to ever arise.

Crate-digging remixer Siik (the man behind buttery smoove, soul-bathed re-hauls of “Single Ladies” and “1 Thing”) has taken it in as it latest project, and he succeeds at making it a must-have gem all over again, comfortably underlining the a capella vocals with the instrumental of Slum Village’s biggest hit, 2004’s Kanye West and John Legend-blessed “Selfish” (itself based off a sample of Aretha Franklin’s 1970 #1 “Call Me”).

Lay back and chill with the Mya/ Siik, Slum Village and Aretha Franklin cuts offered below.

DL: “Best of Me (Siik Remix)” (alt)

DL: “Selfish” (alt)

DL: “Call Me” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, aretha franklin, jay-z, john legend, kanye west, mya, remix, siik, slum village, soul sample

Whether or not the fact that Duck Sauce is a team-up between A-Trak and Armand Van Helden means anything to you (and really, it should!!), all that one really needs to absorb is how ace the side-project’s first single “aNYway” is.

Essentially nothing more than a sampled chunk of the 1979 Final Edition gem “I Can Do It (Anyway You Want)” that’s been beefed up into an irresistible disco house stomper, the makings of “aNYway” may not be all that complex, but damn if it’s simple looping of a gleeful Studio 54 swing and handful of exclamatory soul lines doesn’t make any dark cloud currently hovering over your life instantly dissipate once you’re completely swarmed by it’s euphoric, Studio 54-centered hold.

Alongside it’s entertaining clip of an Afro-ed, Jackson 5-like entity lighting up a ’70’s variety show stage with their infectious boogie, “aNYway” re-strengthens one longing for not only “Soul Train”’s return to the airwaves, but a brand new edition completely soundtracked with stuff like this rather than the comparably weak definition of what’s considered “rhythmic music” these days.

Check out the video, followed by an MP3 of the sample source, below.

Look for Duck Sauce’s debut EP, Greatest Hits, via Fool’s Gold sometime later this year.

DL: “I Can Do It (Anyway You Want)” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, a-trak, armand van helden, disco, duck sauce, final edition, house, side project, soul sample

Coming across like a long-forgotten 60’s/ 70’s-based treasure one discovers when curiously rummaging through their parents’ vinyl collection, Olympia, Washington-birthed act LAKE have spent the past four years slowly winning over fans with an addicting brew of gorgeously constructed unisex vocal interchanges and a hazed-over and charmingly child-like lo-fi twee-pop sound that, when leaving the speakers, seems to instantly dissipate into an air-sweetening mist.

And going by the two early leaked previews of their forthcoming third full length Let’s Build A Roof, the follow-up to last year’s much-acclaimed K Records debut Oh The Places We’ll Go, we’re betting that that audience will only continue to expand further.

“Don’t Give Up”, the most recent of the two leaks, arises as an immediate favorite with it’s happy-go-lucky, Fleetwood Mac-ish swing and female vocals that cleverly disguise the lyrics’ adult-age concerns with some lightly-toned perkiness. But it’s the mid-summer-unleashed “Madagascar” that’ll really slay you, thanks to the hypnotizing magic of it’s sluggish, blue-eyed dub-funk and the group’s playful vocal arrangement on the hook.

Let’s Build A Roof arrives October 6th.

DL: “Don’t Give Up” (alt)

DL: “Madagascar” (alt)

Uncategorized 60's, 70's, indie pop, LAKE, retro, twee, washington